


snow in summer

by orphan_account



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bittersweet Ending, End of the World, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Minor Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth, Minor Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-16 22:54:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21044144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The world is ending, and Claude has everything to do with it.





	snow in summer

**Author's Note:**

> writes 2 fe3h fics and they both have something to do with the cold/ winter somehow  
i've read this over once after finishing but i have really bad typing problems so im sorry if theres any typos  
uh...also i havent played GD route and am only halfway through BL so im sorry for any weird characterization...also this is supposed to be pre time-skip dimiclaude   
idk what else to say the route is kept vague on purpose bc its divergent anyway  
im feeling sad lately and maybe i projected on claude a little too much   
anyway haha have this and leave me comments maybe idk sorry bye!

The sun had been gone for six days, according to the hourglasses in the library. It was hard to trust them when there was no one to actively turn them, but roughly it had been three days. Any less, and Claude would still believe that it was a cruel joke of nature; any longer, and he would’ve lost his mind by then. As far as he could tell, he was still on the sane side. The same couldn’t be said about Hilda. She had paced been pacing back and forth between their rooms, sometimes bringing Claude extra blankets as she was convinced that without the sun they would slowly freeze to death.

For the time being they were piled up at the foot of Claude’s bed, but he had good reasons to believe there was truth in her paranoia. He’d woken up colder than usual that day, and the rain from when he’d gone to bed hadn’t dried out. All the students avoided going outside into the dark chill, though they had to cross the patio to make it to class. They still attended, taking turns acting as teachers and pretending everything was fine.

Few people at Garreg Mach were good liars, with specific exceptions. Claude didn’t exactly like it, but he was chosen head of the silent ‘the sun will be back’ mindset. He had to smile, reassure his friends and those that weren’t of how everything would return to normal shortly, how they would soon wake up to warmth and rays of light bathing the walls of the monastery and their newfound smiles. He could put up with it most of the time, or so he tried to convince himself in an attempt to not let it show he was the most scared they would never see a sunrise again.

A couple students had broken into tears mid dinner —gods, he was not good at consoling people when they were that far gone— and Claude visibly struggled that night for the first time. Surprisingly, Hilda had suggested he returns to his room, that she will calm down the spirits and see that everyone gets a good rest. It seemed that keeping herself busy had become her way of coping, a jarringly different woman from a week prior, yet still the one that would put Claude before her own needs. Claude felt guilty, but she insisted.

So he was in his bed, finally making use of the blankets she’d gifted him, at least three of them wrapped around his legs as he tried to read under flickering candlelight and the weight of his thoughts. The sun had been gone for six days, and it was all his fault, for it was his arrow that pierced the heart that kept it going. A knock at the door. Claude had no mind to see anyone, but he would’ve felt bad not to express his lack of disposition. Whatever it was, it surely could wait.

Begrudging to leave his cocoon of warmth, Claude stood up and opened the door. Dimitri was the last person he was expecting to see there, a heavy cloak draped over his shoulders and his eyes looking not at Claude, but somewhere behind him. The cloak and vacant expression made him look ten years older, a sight that was nowhere befitting of Dimitri’s features; it was enough to make Claude sigh and throw the book somewhere to the side before tapping onto the young man’s shoulder.

“Dimitri, if you’ve come to see me, at least notice I’ve opened the door.” Claude stepped aside so Dimitri could come in. 

“...I apologize.” The prince stepped in, looking like he’d somewhat come to his senses, and had a look around Claude’s room. There were books and clothes and dried out flowers scattered  _ everywhere _ , and suddenly Claude felt only a little self conscious that he hadn’t bothered tidying once ever since their initial arrival at Garreg Mach. It was Dimitri’s first time in his room. The lighting was bad enough that perhaps the mess wasn’t so noticeable.

“Apology accepted,” Claude replied in a tone as lighthearted as he could muster. After closing the door, he pushed the blankets back to the corner so Dimitri would have somewhere to sit next to him. It was either the bed, or the floor, and Claude didn’t feel like sitting on a cold floor either. Dimitri nodded his head as thanks like he did when words were unnecessary and stiffly sat himself on a side of the bed, not too close to its owner. The blankets were right behind him, and after what looked like too much hesitation —truly, Claude would have done it from the start— Dimitri leaned into them and got as comfortable as he would allow himself.

The prince’s shoulders were still stiff, and while he was looking at Claude they were not making any sort of eye contact. It was the kind of thing that never happened, because they had always looked right at each other, always smiling and joyful. It hadn’t been the case since darkness covered the world, since Dimitri was busy keeping his own friends check, since they hadn’t had even a second together. That, and it gave Claude the impression that for once, Dimitri wanted to open up some part of his heart; it was a scary thought. He didn’t doubt it was terrifying for both of them.

Seconds went by like an eternity until finally Dimitri found words that Claude did not want to hear.

“Are you scared?”

Claude stifled a dry laugh. Why yes, he was absolutely terrified, and if it was by him he would break into the monastery’s alcohol supply to make sure he was unconscious were the end of the world to come; and were the sun to return, he could leave these days behind like nothing more than a mere nightmare and move on with life. Maybe Dimitri would drink with him, but judging by his serious expression that was out of the question.

“I don’t see what me being scared or not can change,” Claude said. “But you should know by now I am not suited for this kind of situation. Have you come to tell me I shouldn’t be afraid, that this is something we can fight?” Claude made an attempt to find the prince’s gaze, but Dimitri was very good at avoiding it. If anyone walked in at that moment, it would be a ridiculous scenario, two boys not ready to be mature yet each trying to in their own way.

“No, that’s not it.” Dimitri finally stood still but with his eyes closed, unwilling to lose at their childish game. “At dinner, you were shaking. I have never seen you—” his voice trailed off for a few seconds, as if trying to fight his own ego “— _ never  _ seen you like that before. And now I must apologize to you.”

“What? You’re making even less sense now, Dimitri.” 

The prince lowered his head, akin to a shamed child before any scolding. “Because in thinking you might be scared, I felt relief, perhaps even a small burst of happiness.” With his shoulders sulking like that, Claude felt a need to hug Dimitri, for the both of them. He held back and allowed Dimitri to finish. “I am everyone’s pillar of support. I cannot allow them to see their future king falter in the face of adversity, yet—”

“Ah, don’t say it.” Nevermind letting him finish, Claude knew exactly where Dimitri was going. They were two house leaders, putting up appearances for the sake of those that trusted them and believed in them. But in that room behind a closed door and under the feeble flame of the candle, they were equals. Two people faced with the terrifying consequences of their actions;  _ Claude’s  _ actions, though he could tell Dimitri felt just as responsible for what was happening. 

No one else would blame them, and they wouldn’t blame each other. It was so that they had fallen into their own spiral of self doubt and fear. If the sun never came back, it was on Claude. If the Empire came storming in to recover their Emperor’s head, it was on Dimitri. They stood there in silence, guilt looming over them like a relentless grim reaper that would follow them to the grave. The air had gotten colder, and Claude could now see his own breath every time he exhaled, and the prince’s less often. 

He hoped the others had found a way to keep themselves warm.

Not exactly fond of being cold, Claude tugged at Dimitri’s cloak to have him take it off. Dimitri looked confused but did so, clearly not half as bothered by the chill as Claude was though his face and hands had turned red as well. As swiftly as he could, he arranged two pillows against the wall so they could lean against it without having to deal with the cold stone, and spread Dimitri’s cloak over the bedsheets with the fur side up. Minutes later they were bundled up under all of the blankets from Hilda, as close to each other as Dimitri would allow and pressed against the pillows.

He hoped their body heat would get trapped inside their soft fortress and for the most part it was working; it only took a few minutes for Claude to feel his fingers again and give in to the coziness. He expected Dimitri to protest when his head leaned against the prince’s shoulder, but none of that happened. Instead Claude felt a surprisingly strong arm rest around his waist and bringing him closer. 

It was an unspoken agreement to be vulnerable together for as long as the peace of the dark would allow them —an agreement to leave their hearts bare in the cold, but not comment on them. Perceiving and accepting feelings was enough. The candle went out leaving them in complete darkness, as if to add to the strange comfort they were offering each other, that a presence was all their soul needed. 

Claude closed his eyes, listening closely to Dimitri’s heartbeats. They were slow but loud as a drum, a rhythm that could make anyone feel safe, though there was an underlying danger to them. He’d seen that danger first hand when Dimitri bested Edelgard and claimed her life, when Dimitri laughed in triumph yet cried to the skies in pain at the same time. The Emperor’s death had been Claude’s chance, because the professor had dropped everything to run at Edelgard’s side, to mourn her loss. 

Were the professor to still live, were she to take her wrath on them, the war would continue. Claude hadn’t hesitated, and his arrow had found its mark; he’d killed his teacher and a goddess with one blow. With the last breath of divinity, the sun above them had turned black and crumbled to dust. The battle had concluded, the war had ended, yet the victors had gained nothing but the harrowing future. That, assuming there was a future.

The goddess had given birth to the world and it would die with her. Even faced with the end, Claude couldn’t bring himself to pray or worship the being he had killed. He really had to be the worst kind of man. 

“I am afraid to die,” he murmured out of nowhere. “Of the pain. Of the nothingness.”

Dimitri’s heartbeat got slightly erratic. “We took lives. I did, many more than you.” His voice was pensive, yet ultimately carried the same tone of fear as Claude’s. “Are we — am  _ I _ even allowed to cling onto life?”

“Don’t get so philosophical on me. We’re normal people, fighting to stay alive like any other being of flesh and blood.” Claude tentatively took Dimitri’s free hand in his, and kept the surprise of their fingers entwining unspoken. “Though I guess normal people don’t cause the end of the world.”

“They don’t.”

“Then what shall we do? There will be no Alliance, no Kingdom. Truthfully, we are not prince and lord anymore. We will face death like everyone else, wishing things had been different. We will die alone—”

And then, Dimitri fully brought Claude into his arms, sat upon his lap and held tightly yet with caution not to break Claude in half. The blankets had moved briefly, letting some of the cold in, but soon they were wrapped back around them to the point where Claude worried he would suffocate between Dimitri’s grip and them. It would’ve been a ridiculous way to go, after all his worrying about death. He allowed it, and was allowed to rest back against Dimitri, this time head directly onto the prince’s chest. 

“Not alone.” Dimitri said, trying to convince both of them.

Claude managed to half ass a joke. “My, Dimitri, are you saying we will stay bundled up like this until our time comes? Because you won’t be as fond of me when I inevitably get hungry.” That the idea didn’t sound half as bad as it should have didn’t bother him. “...Thank you.”

“I am not deserving of your thanks.”

“Why, because hugging me is nice for you too? Come on, I’m allowing you to indulge, so don’t sulk about it.” He got a nudge as a reply, but that was enough to know that Dimitri accepted the scolding and had resigned to reveling in it. “I mean it. I needed to know you were scared, too.”

“So what does that make us?” Dimitri asked. It took Claude a minute to reply.

“Idiots.”

Dimitri laughed, and it made the room feel slightly less cold. “That, I cannot argue with.”

They kept talking for hours, somehow having found it in them to be honest with each other, were it for only one night. Claude must have fallen asleep at some point, because when he came back to consciousness he was alone in the blankets and Dimitri was nowhere to be seen. A new candle had taken place at his bedside, with a note written in Dimitri’s handwriting right next to it. Claude smiled as he read it. Every day after dinner, despite the freezing earth, despite the scarcening food, Dimitri would follow Claude to his room and they would share stories in the only part of the monastery that still kept some warmth. 

It wouldn’t be long until the cold would come for them too, but when it did, Dimitri’s arms would be around Claude and their hearts would freeze on the exact same beat.


End file.
